Young Volcanoes

~Chapter Nine~

  It's been a week since we aced the music exam. Things have been pretty bad.

You see, Patrick's seemed distant since Friday. None of us saw him on the weekend; We'd invited him to join us for band practice and pizza at Joe's, like normal, but he'd declined. Said he was sick.

So today in Art, when i saw him walk past my classroom, i told Andy, who sat beside me where i was going and that he should pack my bag after class so i could get it later off of him. i asked for permission to use the bathroom. What i was really going to do was follow Patrick and ask him what was up.

He hadn't spoke about what was up to anyone, not even me.

With my permission granted, i feel'd the classroom in a rush, trying to make it look as though it was urgent and also trying to keep up with Patrick.

I followed him down three flights of stairs, always keeping slightly back so he wouldn't noticed me.

Turns out he was going to the bathroom too.

"'Trick? Are you okay?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. He shook it off the moment it got there. "I'm fine, Pete, just leave me alone." He said, angrily. I wouldn't budge though; He'd been acting like this for a while, and i got the feeling he was hiding something big from me. "Patrick. Something's up. I'm not an idiot. I can tell when my own boyfriend is upset." I said, standing my ground.

"Pete, i said leave me the fuck alone," He said, his face to the floor, he hurried into a stall and tried to lock it.

I was stronger than him, however, and kept the door open. "Pete... Just-" But his words were cut off by a fit of sobs that came from his mouth. He collapsed against the door. "Pat?" I asked, walking into the stall, locking the door, and sitting down beside him. I put my arm around him, and tried wiping away the tears that were spilling down his cheeks. "Patrick? Patrick, what's wrong, baby?" I asked softly. He was shaking really hard; I tried calming him down. I kissed his forehead, and rubbed my hand up and down his back, trying to comfort him. "It's okay, it's okay..."

It took about ten minutes, until he finally calmed down enough to speak. "P-Pete... I'm sorry... For shouting... It's just..." Patrick began, tears still streaming down his face, falling onto his shirt.

"It's okay, just tell me what's wrong." I said softly. I took his hand in mine and stroked his hand with my thumb, the other arm still wrapped around him.

"I-It's just... Okay, i know i should have told you... On Saturday-" His face contorted with tears again. He wiped them away, angrily. "My mom.. S-she... She had a heart attack, Pete." He sobbed.

"Oh My God, Patrick, I'm so sorry!" I gasped, throwing my arms around him. I let him cry for a few minutes, soaking my t-shirt.

"T-there's more. Mom is fine- She's at the hospital. But she can't come home for another two months. The type of heart attack she had, S-she needs to be monitored at all times. If there's no report of any bad signs by the end of the two months, then she can come back home..." Patrick said, shaking still. He was only crying a little bit now. "Since she's gone, i need somebody to look after me. The only people i have who were close by and willing to do it are my grandparents... But when they saw you walk me home on Sunday... My grandpa took me inside and called me a faggot. T-then he did this," He said shakily. He took my hand and led it under his shirt. As soon as my fingers touched the skin, i gasped and clamped my fingers to my mouth, and Patrick winced in pain.

"P-Patrick..." I asked , taking a deep breath. "H-he beat you?" He nodded slowly, his eyes shimmering with tears again. This time i was crying too; It hurt me to think that Patrick was being abused, and that i could've helped him. I wasn't mad at him; i was mad at myself. I took him in my arms again, and kissed the top of his head softly. We sat like that for about twenty minutes, our arms still wrapped around each other. We'd both stopped crying, but Patrick was still shaking. I hugged him harder. He looked up at me.

My lips found his; I felt the same sparks i had the first time we'd kissed. I deepened the kiss, opening his mouth ever so slightly with my own. I broke away from Patrick, and cupped my hands round his face; i looked at him, intensely.

"Patrick... I think i love you. I know i love you, Goddamnit. I love you so fucking much, and don't you ever forget that." I said. He answered by pressing his lips against mine, once again. He broke away, gazed up at me, and said:

"I love you, too. I mean it. " He smiled and rested his head on my shoulder.

I smiled. "I'll get you out of there Patrick, i promise," i said, looking at him seriously. "We'll wait till they're out the house, we'll pack your stuff and you can stay at mine. My parents won't mind, honestly. Andy lived with us for about half a year, whilst his Mom and Dad were having problems. After we've done that, we can report your Grandpa to the police. He won't be able to ever touch you again, and even if he did get out of prison, i'll protect you. You have my word." I said, i intensely.

"Okay."
"Okay."

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~{Let's be alone together, we could stay young forever, screaming from the top of our lungs}~

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